With a Senior Investigator in the Program in Cellular Regulation and Metabolism, NICHD, we are studying the mechanisms and rate by which retrotransposons insert themselves into eukaryote chromosomes. A library of specially engineered nucleotide sequences are attached to the retrotransposons, allowing for a statistical analysis of genome patterns around hot spots, positions on chromosomes where insertion occur at a high rate. A peer-reviewed paper was published in late 2015. This paper included contributions from a PI in the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, NCI. With an principal investigator in Laboratory of Gene Regulating and Development, NICHD, and with members of the Biomedical Imaging Research Services Section of the Division of Computational Bioscience, CIT, we are working on statistical and topological analysis of retinal neurons growth in Drosophila. The dendritic trees of these neurons have a length and directional biases that is very dependent on their local environment. In addition, we have found that dendritic branching and termination are not simple Poisson processes. We prepare and examine flies with mutant genes for neurotrophic factors in order to determine what guides the direction and length of dendritic tree growth. We are also preparing a open source set of software tools that we have found useful. A peer-reviewd review article on this subject was published in 2016. With a Senior Investigator in the Basic Neuroscience Program, NINDS, and with members of the Biomedical Imaging Research Services Section of the Division of Computational Bioscience, CIT, we are studying the dynamics of the growth of soma neuron axons in soma of Drosophila as the creatures develop into their mature forms. We are particular interested in mechanisms that guide neurons axons to their ultimate targets. A article for peer-review is in preparation. With a principal investigator and staff clinician in Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and with a staff scientist in the Mathematical and Statistical Laboratory, CIT, we are trying to determine the correlates for treatment seeking in a population of alcohol abusers. This studying is considering environmental, physiological, and genomic factors. With a consortium of investigators from the (1) Program in Physical Biology, (NICHD), (2) Computational Bioscience and Engineering Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, and (3) Biomedical Engineering and Physical Science Shared Resource, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, we modeled the thermal and fluid transport that occur in the operation of activated expression microdissection. This is a method of extracting large number of cells in which a normally expressed protein is stained with a light-absorbing dye. At exposure to light, the heated stain melts a polymer film that binds to tissue, allowing for pickup of cellular components. The engineering development is nearing the point where the method can be utilized in pathology laboratories, and the NIH Office of Technology Transfer is in negotiations with potential commercial developers.